Virginia parents charged after 5-year-old autistic daughter’s body found in SC waters

A Virginia couple, John Herb Hayes III (70) and Geordyn Nichole Hayes (31) of Bristol, were arrested in Tennessee on charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk or willfully abandoning a child after their 5-year-old daughter, Saylor Hayes, who was autistic and nonverbal, disappeared and was later found dead in the waters near Hagley Landing on the Waccamaw River in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. An extensive search involved hundreds of people and multiple agencies. Police say the parents failed to supervise a highly vulnerable child, had been using a Project Lifesaver transmitter since 2024 but removed it before the family left Virginia, and directed search efforts away from the nearby water. They are being held in Tennessee without bond pending extradition; investigators say the case warrants accountability while noting the tragedy for the community.